Sarah Palin accessories: She’s really a recessionista!

I love Sarah Palin's new schtick: "I'm really frugal," she's been saying. Really, I do like it. It's politically smart and makes her look un-scripted.

In this video, on Huff Post, she talks about the three accessories she's wearing. First, earrings given to her by her mother-in-law, a Native Alaskan. Score one for Palin's embracing diversity. Second is her wedding ring — 38 bucks, she says. Read: "Marriage is about long-term commitment and family, not about bling." Finally, her blue star pin, which apparently shows her devotion to her son, now serving in Iraq.

I thought this was an authentic response to the wardrobe story she's found herself in. Another interesting response was opting out of the standard wardrobe options for a female politician and showing up on the stump in jeans, instead. (I had trouble finding pictures today.)

The big problem is that I see Sarah and her family as just-folks who find themselves with a huge lottery win, and their every lifestyle choice gets thrown out the window. Suddenly, they're no longer consignment-store, frugal people; now they're wearing Valentino and LV. Their handlers were inept not to anticipate that this would be a huge problem for McCain. (And her stylists were also to blame for sending her in a direction so radically different from who she's always been, at least sartorially speaking.)

We're eight days out now, and the focus has finally shifted from Palin to Obama-versus-McCain and I'm just crossing my fingers that Obama can pull it off.

Which brings me to the problem of what this blog will be after the election. I'm becoming interested in how people will make their purchasing decisions in light of the bad economy and how this will affect our style.